Join us in congratulating Dr. Erin Schuman, who was awarded the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience. The @mpibrain.bsky.social scientist received this prestigious recognition for her discoveries in how neurons produce proteins locally. Learn more: bit.ly/4v6jeWm
Max Planck Neuroscience
@mpneuro.bsky.social
Discoveries about the brain from around the Max Planck Society.
Congratulations to @mpfneuro.bsky.social CEO & Scientific Director Dr. David Fitzpatrick, who was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. He was recognized with this rare honor for his exceptional contributions to neuroscience research & discovery: bit.ly/4xSyjNR
Scientists at @mpfneuro.bsky.social, Zeiss, & MetaCell developed Neuroplex, an imaging pipeline that tracks brain activity across up to 9 cell types at once. Published in @elife.bsky.social, the work shows how neural circuits collaborate to drive behavior: bit.ly/440tHaQ
New research from @mpiforbi.bsky.social reveals how zebra finches’ brains change the rhythm of their calls based on familiarity with another bird. This suggests that social context influences the neuronal activity involved in their vocal communication: bit.ly/3PtShwT
Discovery: @mpi-psychiatry.bsky.social & @uni-muenster.de researchers found that synaptic impairment can predict cognitive schizophrenia symptoms. These findings could lead to development of more targeted treatments: bit.ly/4uFddjC
Can the smell of food in utero influence future health? Researchers at @mpi-metabolism.bsky.social discovered that the scent of high-fat foods triggers a neural circuit that alters fetal brain development, potentially rewiring metabolism. bit.ly/49baeqH
Can brain scans reveal future health risks? Researchers at @mpi-psychiatry.bsky.social and @lmu.de used machine learning to discover brain patterns that predict weight gain in patients starting antipsychotic treatment. bit.ly/4tdWPFE
Scientists at @mpi-psychiatry.bsky.social discovered that cells near brain injuries produce a stress-relieving hormone that promotes myelin repair after brain injury. See what this breakthrough might mean for mental illness: bit.ly/4di6y8V
As one of the many interactive exhibits aboard the MS Wissenschaft, visitors this summer can use a citizen science app where game-like tasks are used for cognitive testing. See how scientists from @mpicybernetics.bsky.social link decision-making behavior & mental health development: bit.ly/3OnalYY
How do neurons endure starvation? Researchers at @mpibrain.bsky.social have discovered a survival strategy where inactive ribosomes pair into tightly linked disomes. bit.ly/47Vm2wQ
How does evolution rewire a brain to change behavior? Researchers from @mpinb.mpg.de have discovered that aggression can evolve by repurposing existing neural circuits: bit.ly/4sJgugw
How much information does the brain need to recognize a face? Researchers at @mpicybernetics.bsky.social have discovered that we can recognize familiar faces using surprisingly low-resolution images: bit.ly/4dqTXRl
Can we distinguish between human and artificial voices? Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics have learned that AI-generated voices are still perceived as less attractive on average: bit.ly/4dsyRSz
How can we accurately show what the brain is doing in real time? A new AI model developed by @mpicybernetics.bsky.social reveals distinct brain states by capturing complementary signals in non-invasive imaging. bit.ly/4sfgqp5
How does light shape our actions? Researchers at @mpicybernetics.bsky.social and Light for Public Health are translating global discoveries about light, circadian rhythms, and behavior into 26 consensus statements: bit.ly/4bOT2ci
Researchers at @mpfneuro.bsky.social found that removing the Centaurin-α1 brain protein reduced Alzheimer’s neuroinflammation, amyloid buildup, and synaptic loss in mice. The discovery shows promise for future therapeutics: bit.ly/4kF1CwX
A new discovery by @mpfneuro.bsky.social has uncovered how the motor cortex and the striatum work together like an hourglass to control the timing of our movements. Learn more: bit.ly/4rOljEV
How do zebrafish change color to blend into their backgrounds? Researchers at @mpiforbi.bsky.social bi.bsky.social found key cell types that trigger the “dimmer switch” phenomenon. Their work may also help explain why mammals lost this survival trick: bit.ly/48M62hk
Meet two new research groups at @mpibrain.bsky.social: Evolutionary Neuroscience & Behavior led by @pbrand.bsky.social, and Brain Algorithms & Circuits led by Gregor Schuhknecht. More on their research at bit.ly/3MyIyU6
Pioneering neuroscientist @erin-schuman.bsky.social, Ph.D., Director & Professor at @mpibrain.bsky.social, has been elected as a Member of @nam.edu. Discover her groundbreaking research: bit.ly/4nZBcWS
New tool to better understand dementia? Research from @mpfneuro.bsky.social & @weillcornell.bsky.social shows promise. By tracking specific cellular switches, researchers discovered one switch that plays a role in stronger memory development: bit.ly/4nZMYRh
For patients with Alzheimer's, the natural memory process breaks down. Svenja Brodt at @mpicybernetics.bsky.social found a compensatory mechanism: the cerebral cortex can quickly form long-term memories through active learning & repetition, challenging the hippocampus-first model. bit.ly/4o8zLq7
@mpicybernetics.bsky.social postdoc Denis Chaimow is recognized by @ohbmofficial.bsky.social for conducting the first pre-registered replication study in laminar fMRI: bit.ly/4nlDnUi
Open science breakthrough: @arc-cogitate.bsky.social has launched an open-access iEEG dataset of 38 people, including work from @ae.mpg.de. This high-resolution resource tests competing theories & is available to researchers worldwide: bit.ly/49gRhne
Researchers at @mpibrain.bsky.social have created a vividly detailed atlas of the mouse hippocampus, combining RNA & protein data to pinpoint more than 27,000 molecules at single-synapse resolution: bit.ly/3WgAaui
A 5-year project at @mpicybernetics.bsky.social is using fMRI to understand shared mechanisms and the role of dopamine in hasty or delayed decision-making in schizophrenia and OCD. Explore the study: bit.ly/49juJSR
New discovery: Researchers at LMU University Hospital of Psychiatry, IMPRS-TP & Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry found a mechanism for schizophrenia cognitive symptoms. Explore early maturation in oligodendrocytes, which may become a treatment target: bit.ly/48gHXzd
Researchers at @mpibrain.bsky.social found that ribosomes may be able to be assembled on-demand & where needed. This discovery could influence future research on synaptic plasticity, memory formation & protein-associated neurological disorders. Explore the study: bit.ly/3VRVbuU
Researchers from @mpi-psychiatry.bsky.social, Helmholtz Munich & the University of Sydney have identified shared biological mechanisms in 3 psychiatric disorders, including disruptions in circadian rhythm & dopamine levels. Explore the research: bit.ly/4mjec4e
Lean mice that smell food before eating feel full; obese mice don’t. Why? Research from @mpi-metabolism.bsky.social found a link between olfactory bulb nerve cells and the brain area that triggers satiety. This could shed light on how humans react to smelling food: bit.ly/4nX4XZI